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Re: help! about to give up...

Try using the nipple shield again. Nursing is the best way to increase your supply. Babies can get more out than any pump can. So he has gained nearly a pound. That is good.

I respectful disagree, if you a re weaned from the shield going back on is not a good idea. Shields are bad for production. So a pound in four weeks basically. Ok what about the diaper output? Let me find some links, but I would nurse as much as possible, work on a deep latch, with the nipple sandwich technique and watch diape r output. I think it's going to be a fairly nerve racking few days but I wouldn't think that your supply is horrible damaged at this point.

Re: help! about to give up...

i called someone from LLL and she told me to feed him every 2 hours (from beginning of one to beginning of the next). i cant see getting more than 30 minutes sleep at a time, which will be miserable and i dont think i can handle. i just feel like whatever option i choose is wrong. formula is against everything i believe in, breastfeeding hurts and i cant supply enough milk, if i go to pumping i'm not supplying enough milk and from everything i have read it will decrease my milk supply.

Re: help! about to give up...

Oh I am so sorry this has been so hard for you. It sounds like you are very understandably frustrated!
When a mother is having great difficulties breastfeeding, whether or not to keep trying to nurse their babies is a difficult decision. What is the "right" choice is entirely individual and will depend on you and your situation. I can tell you that this is still early days and there are many moms who have faced challenges this great who have been able to exclusively nurse. Also, breastfeeding need not be all or nothing. You might want to consider-What if you can never exclusively nurse, or never nurse at all -but can provide your baby with your milk via pumping or nurse and supplement as needed? Many moms who cannot exclusively nurse, do continue to nurse while supplementing, or exclusively pump or pump while also supplementing, long term. But it certainly is hard, and takes a different kind of commitment and a mindset where you define your own 'success' than does breastfeeding that goes 'normally."

But there is no doubt, from a scientific standpoint, that a baby who gets his mommas milk-even if also supplemented with formula- has more normal health outcomes than the baby who does not. Studies show us clearly that the benefits increase the more breastmilk and/or time at breast babies get, but even just a little breast milk and/or time at the breast has proven benefits. This is not a judgment or an opinion. It is simply fact based on hundreds of studies. What you have done already, by nursing as much as you have and providing the breastmilk you have, has been so good for your baby. I know it does not feel like it right nowm but trust me, if you stopped trying to nurse right this second, the enormous effort that got you this far have been worth it.

Assuming you would like to keep trying to nurse, I have a few questions you can answer if you like that may help us help you- If you already answered down thread no need to repeat yourself. did the lactation consultant or anyone else examine your baby for tongue or lip tie? Since that first early appt, have you been to see the LC again or tried on your own to improve the latch? What did you try? Are you still using a shield? How long have you been exclusively bottled feedings and how much is breastmilk and how much bottles?

What kind of a pump are you using? is pumping comfortable? how many times in 24 hours do you pump? For about how long each time?

How has your recovery from surgery been? Anything unusual?

At this point I feel like I cannot provide the necessary things for him

This is a very difficult feeling to have, that we cannot take care of our babies. Do you mean that the pumping is taking you away from holding your baby? because all a one month old baby needs is enough to eat and his mothers loving arms. (And diaper changes.)

i called someone from LLL and she told me to feed him every 2 hours (from beginning of one to beginning of the next). i cant see getting more than 30 minutes sleep at a time,

This DOES sound incredibly exhausting. I know! But here is the thing-even if breasrtfeeing is going fantastic, a breastfed newborn (up to 6-8 weeks or so) usually HAS to nurse about 10-12 times a day-or more, in order to get enough milk and stimulate normla milk production. or Does it have to be in every such and such hour increments, no. It does not. Typically, a baby will cluster feed-feed maybe twice an hour for a couple of hours, and then take a longer sleep. But this needing a great frequency of nursing (or pumping, if baby cannot nurse) is just a biological fact.

The problem is, working this need for frequent milk removal into a 'scedule' when mom is having difficulties, and maybe has to pump as well, etc. But for many moms, sceduling feedings or even pumping sessions does not really work. That is why we have this idea for moms who are exclusively pumping-temporarily or not...http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...umpigchart.pdf

Re: help! about to give up...

no one has looked at him for tongue or lip tie. i have tried a few things to improve the latch with a lactation consultant. we have tried aiming the nipple at the top of the mouth, leaning his head back and even pressing open his jaw to get his mouth open wider. He chomps down as soon as the nipple gets in the mouth. no nipple shield for a couple of weeks now. during the day i am pumping about 2 oz and supplementing about 1 oz because the ped said he needs that much at each feeding. i am using a double eletric medela. it is pretty uncomforable but not as much as the baby and certainly not as sore afterwards. i pump every time he needs to feed until the milk is gone and then for a few more minutes. i just feel like i am not able to pump enough food and even with all these supplements i'm taking i am just not producing the right amount of milk for him. i'm afraid to go back to breastfeeding exclusivly because i wont know how much food he is getting.

Re: help! about to give up...

I'm sorry nursing has been so frustrating so far!

Pumping shouldn't be uncomfortable- unless you have some savage cracks or something, in which case nothing you do is going to spare you discomfort. You may want to check and see if the shields are properly sized. If the nipple is rubbing against the sides of the collection tube, that can cause pain and larger shields may help. You can also try lubing your nipples with some olive oil- if the shields are only marginally too small, a little lube may help them slide without pain.

I totally get the fear of nursing exclusively when that means not knowing how much milk the baby is taking in. If you have some energy to spare (ha ha ) you may want to consider renting a professional baby scale and doing some before and after feeding weights. Subtract the before from the after and you gain a highly accurate picture of how much milk the baby takes in over the course of a feeding. I suggest renting a scale rather than doing a single weigh-feed-weigh test at the LC's office because a single snapshot doesn't tell you much. The amount a baby takes in at a single feeding varies a lot, so the average tells you way more than the snapshot.